Episode Sixteen
by Write-To-You
Summary: (MAJOR spoilers for 3x15, and possible the whole of season 3 of the Flash!) After Wally gets dragged into the Speed Force, Savitar escapes, and Iris' life is once again hanging on a thin thread. Unable to believe that what they saw in the future is about to come true, Team Flash must work to find another solution- one that doesn't include being fast enough. All cannon relationship.


**Author's Note: Guys. That was** ** _literally_** **the best summary I've ever written.**

 **I had to do this (therapy, really) for Tuesday's episode. It was AMAZING, but it** ** _killed me to my core_** **. This is sort of a speculation/how I wish it would go in 3x16 (which, as I'm writing this A.N., hasn't yet aired)**

 **Here's just a few things we will be fixing:**

 **Wally's possible demise in the Speed Force**

 **Caitlin and Julian's heartbreaking sort-of-breakup**

 **Iris and Barry's even more heartbreaking unengagement (thought no WestAllen proposal- I couldn't do it the correct justice it deserves)**

 **My theory on how this should fix this whole gigantic, terrifying mess!**

 **This may end up being edited/expanded, but here is the first draft. Enjoy!**

It was quiet in STAR Labs with everyone gone. It was just the three of them- the original three-, Caitlin in her lab, Barry sleeping off the last of his injury, Cisco quietly engrossing himself with something on his tablet, his swivel chair just faintly squeaking as it spun back and forth.

Caitlin sighed, resting her chin on her palm. The scene was so reminiscent of how it used to be- the three of them, post fight, Dr. Wells about to come rolling into the room to offer them all a word of advice of how to do better, how to _be_ better. She could really have used his advice right now.

Thinking of Dr. Wells, she remembered the -almost _laughable_ , now- horror of the Reverse Flash. To have that as the worst thing in their life again... Even Zoom, who still occasionally haunted her nightmares (mask on and off), was so small and powerless compared to Savitar.

Savitar. Caitlin shuddered, remember Wally's face as he was sucked into the Speed Force, Jesse's as she ran out sobbing, Barry's as he lay in the med bay, tears on his own face for everything that he had lost, and everything that he continued to lose.

HR walked into the Cortex, quietly humming some sort of ballad. Even he seemed to feel the mood switch- his usual, bright, beamish face was nowhere to be seen, and his shoulders were just a tad bit more slumped then usual. "Hello, Caitlin." He greeted her.

She held her finger to he lips. "Shh... Barry's still resting."

"Oh!" He nodded vigorously. "Right, yes, I'll be quiet."

She smiled at him, glad that he was here, even after everything. He might not have been quite the mentor that Dr. Wells or even Harry were, but every Harrison Wells, no matter what their form, managed to make her feel better.

"Where are the others?" HR asked, idly twirling his drumstick between his fingers.

"Iris and Joe are... probably home, by now." Caitlin told him, mostly guessing. "I bet Julian's at CCPD," _Hiding from me_ , she thought, but didn't say, "And Jesse's in her room. This has been really tough on her, with Wally, and everything." It had been tough on all of them, really, especially Barry, but Jesse was... Jesse, and Caitlin could see that with what had happened to Wally, it was breaking her into pieces. She knew the feeling.

"Where's- Oh, Francisco, there you are." HR waved brightly. "Hello!"

"Hey, HR." Cisco waved back glumly. "Glad to see that you're not letting a terrible situation affect you even a little bit."

" _Cisco_." Caitlin scolded. "I think that it's nice to have at least _one_ of us acting like there's hope."

HR beamed at her, patting her on the shoulder. "There's always hope. You just have to be either stupid enough -or brilliant enough- to see it."

Barry blinked open his eyes, scanning the room until his gaze landed on Cisco, then Caitlin and HR. "Hey, guys..." He murmured, voice still rough.

"How do you feel?" Caitlin stood up from her chair, glad for an excuse to stretch her legs, and walked across the room to stand by his bed.

"Like I got stabbed." Barry offered her a small smile. "Where is everyone?"

HR answered for her. "Possibly at home, or at CCPD, or hiding from their fears when they should be _solving them_." He stuck his fist in the air. "Who's with me?"

No one answered, Caitlin starting her last checkup on Barry's shoulder and vitals. HR slowly lowered his hand. "Ok, ok, I get it, we all need a little pick-me-up. How about some Jitters coffee, right?" He began to back out the door. "I'll go get that. You guys call the others!"

Cisco watched him go with a sigh. "I don't think that coffee is going to solve our problems, for once."

"Yeah." Caitlin whispered. "Me neither."

-/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\/'\,/'\,/'\\-

 **(A.N: That's sort of supposed to look like the lighting bolt that flashes after each break before the commercial. Just to fill you in.)**

Iris and Joe got to the Cortex first, and were surprised when Barry startled out of his bed so violently that he nearly tripped. "Iris!"

She frowned. "Just because I gave you back your ring doesn't mean that I'm not going to help save my brother, Barry."

He shook his head, hard, scared. "No- no- it's not that. That sweater..."

Iris looked down at the loose, tan article of clothing, and Jesse, who had also joined them, did too. "I actually think it's a nice sweater, Barry."

She looked awful. Her eyes were red and blotchy, and she was pale, her hair, normally so nicely curled, a bit of a mess around her head. Caitlin walked over to hug her, and the younger girl sighed quietly, pressing her face into Caitlin's shoulder.

"No, no." Barry said. "That's the sweater you're wearing when- when you die."

Everyone in the room froze. Cisco looked over, eyes wide. "But- we saw that the date- that's impossible. Why would the date be wrong?"

"I could just... wear this sweater again?" Iris asked, thought she didn't sound very convinced.

Caitlin bit her lip, a thought that she had been having that night before now fully taking control. "I- I don't think that that's it, Iris. I actually had this idea... and it's a little crazy..."

"Can't be any more crazy then what we've been trying to do, lately." Cisco shrugged, standing up from his chair. "And I think that we're up for anything to stop the future from coming true."

"What are you thinking, Cait?" Barry asked quietly, and, looking at him, Caitlin figured that no crazy idea could make him feel worse then he already did.

"Look-" She said, then paused, as Julian came into the room. He glanced at her, then quickly away, and she felt a tightening in her chest as she realized that he still had yet to believe that she didn't bring him on the team for her own selfish reasons.

He stared, hard, down at the floor. "Don't let me stop you from whatever you were going to say."

Cisco raised his eyebrow at them both, and exchanged confused glances with Barry. He shrugged. "Go ahead, Caitlin."

"Right." Caitlin shook her head lightly, clearing away any thoughts of how she was going to fix this all with Julian for later. "Right, so, I think that we've been going about this... changing the future thing the wrong way." Everyone stared at her. She bit her lip again. "I mean, we all know that... nothing that we've done is _really_ changing anything. Ok, yeah, Mirror Master was brought in by Kid Flash, and the attack from the Gorillas was stopped, but, even if we _had_ changed more, I just... I think time wants to happen."

Barry frowned angrily, crossing his arms. "So what? You just want to give up? _Let_ Iris die?"

"No!" Caitlin said hurriedly. "I don't want Iris to die, and I don't want to turn into Killer Frost, either."

"You won't." Julian said. It was quiet, and almost dead in emotion, but she heard it.

Caitlin's heart swelled with a whole different kind of hope, and she pushed on. "What I'm saying is, no matter what we change- whether we cute Iris' hair, or she wears the ring or not- I don't think it's going to change what you saw. So we need to try something else. We need to make sure that everything that happens is _exactly_ what Barry saw."

The entire room was silent, uncomprehending. "Caitlin.." Iris said gently, like she had lost her mind along the way. "It's an.. interesting idea.. but if we make what Barry saw happen, that means I die."

Caitlin ran her fingers through her hair and tugged, trying to come up with a way to say what was inside her head. She started over. "Look. Anything we do to change what the set future is isn't working. So that's why we need to change how it actually is, but not how it looks." Still more blank stares greeted her. "If the Iris that dies isn't actually _our_ Iris, but she _looks_ like her, then Savitar will think that he's killed the real Iris, and that his work is done."

Barry's back slowly straightened. "You're saying... use a different Iris?"

Iris frowned, looking between them. "Guys, how can you even be considering this? We aren't going to use some poor doppleganger to take my place and die for me! That is so messed up!"

"Not a doppleganger." Caitlin corrected. "A time remanent. We'll trade you out for a time remanent to save your life."

-/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\/'\,/'\,/'\\-

Cisco had been spending a lot of his time in his lab, lately. While the others were working on the exact details of using Iris' time remanent, he was investigating the spear that Caitlin had ripped from Barry's shoulder.

It was extremely interesting, some sort of _plating_ , with a jagged end and scales all up the top. The problem was, Cisco didn't know how it was going to be useful. He could feel that it was- more of a gut instinct then a vibe- but he wasn't quite sure what to _do_ with that feeling.

If he could form this spear into a weapon, (well, it already _was_ a weapon, but that was beside the point) then what would they do with it? Where would they even aim it? How? Savitar was the fastest thing that any of them had ever encountered- faster then Zoom and the Reverse Flash combined- he would see the spear coming as soon as it left one of their hands.

They needed another plan. Cisco just wasn't sure what it was, yet.

Joe found Iris on the roof. "Hey, baby girl." He greeted, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Hi, dad." Iris smiled softly.

"What are you doing up here?" Joe asked, staring out of the side of the building and watching the city lights twinkle underneath them.

"I'm just... thinking." Iris murmured.

"About?"

"Barry, Savitar... everything." Iris said, leaned her head on his shoulder. "Dad, I'm not afraid to die." She noticed how his grip tightened, ever-so-slightly, around her shoulders. "I'm more scared of what will happen to Barry if I do. He's- he's already lost so much, and I'm _terrified_ that this might put him over the edge."

Joe turned her chin to face him, putting one large, heavy hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about Barry, sweetheart. I will make sure that nothing happens to him- to either of you." He tried for a smile. "I may not be a speedster, but I get be pretty scary when people try to hurt my kids."

Iris wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, and he hugged her back, kissing the top of her head. "You just worry about you, and how we're going to save your life. Because we are, Iris. I promise you, we are."

"Julian, wait." Caitlin called, rushing down the hallway to try and catch him before he reached the elevator. She caught at his elbow, and pulled him to a stopping position. "I just need to you hear me out- _please_."

He paused at the way her voice broke, and turned around reluctantly. "I'm listening."

Caitlin winced at how cold his eyes were, how distant everything seemed. She remembered their kiss, short but amazingly beautiful, and tightened her grip on his elbow fractionally. "I just- I wanted to apologize." Caitlin looked down at the floor, unable to keep his gaze. "I should have told you the truth- the whole truth- instead of just inviting you on the team and keeping the stone to myself."

Julian nodded curtly, pulling his arm away. "Is that all?"

"No!" Caitlin said, desperately. "No, I'm sorry that you think I brought you on this team for my own purposes. That might have been part of the reason why I started to consider it, but _you_ , and how I feel about you- that's what really got you on." She paused, gnawing on her lower lip. "I can't have you mad at me. With everything else going on.. I just- I need you, right now."

Julian let a long silence hang before he pulled away father. "I'm sorry, Caitlin. I just need a little more time to process." He turned, and walked into the elevator. "Would it be too cliche to say, 'It's not you, it's me'?"

Not waiting for her to respond, the elevator doors closed. Caitlin covered her face with her hand, wiping her eyes firmly on the back, and taking a deep breath.

Time. If time was all he wanted, she could give that to him.

The hallways were silent, so Barry figured that Jesse was in her room again. Not wanting to barge in, he knocked quietly on her door.

"Come in." Jesse said. She sounded stuffy and tired, but not like she was crying.

Barry opened the door. "Hey, Jesse." He whispered. "How are you doing?"

She turned to give him a look. "How do you think I'm doing, Barry? How would you feel if it was Iris stuck in the Speed Force right now, when you had had the opportunity to save her?"

Barry frowned. "Hey, this isn't your fault-"

"Yeah, that's what everyone keeps saying." Jesse interrupted. "It is, though, Barry. Wally is in the Speed Force because of me. I wasn't enough to keep him at Joe's, so he ran off and got rid of the stone. Now Savitar has it, and that's on me, too. I wasn't fast enough to stop him from getting the stone, or going to find Savitar, or saving him from being sucked in. I wasn't even fast enough to tell you guys what had happened."

Tears filled her eyes, and Jesse looked down at her lap, fingers folded tightly together. Barry rested his hand on her shoulder. "Jesse, I get it. I get blaming yourself for stuff. I do it all the time." He knelt down, and looked her in the eye. "But if we want to save Wally, we've got to focus on that, not what could've been done. So let's get the team together, ok? We're going to figure out how to get Wally out of there."

Jesse nodded, and Barry took her hand, pulling her to her feet. "Let's go." She whispered.

-/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\/'\,/'\,/'\\-

When they had all gathered in the Cortex, Barry pulled out the white board. "Ok." He took a deep breath. "Here's what we know. Savitar said that, in the future, I send him into the Speed Force instead of killing him."

"Like you did with Zoom." Cisco agreed.

Everyone turned and stared at him. "What?" Cisco shrugged. "It's true."

"But, guys, Zoom can't be Savitar." Barry shook his head. "I thought, maybe, at first, but he said I put him in the Speed Force in the _future_ not the past."

"Who is this... Zoom?" Julian asked.

"The worst thing we'd ever heard of, last year." Joe said.

"He kidnapped Caitlin." Cisco added. "And killed both our Earth 2 dopplegangers. And Ronnie's, actually."

"Ronnie?" Julian asked, looking more confused then ever.

"My dead husband." Caitlin told him. He turned to her, eyes wide. "And I never told you because it never came up."

There was a long silence in the Cortex. Barry shook his head. "Anyway, we know that I push whoever Savitar started as into the Speed Force in the future. So if I can refrain from doing that, he'll never be created-"

"And it will create a massive paradox, and possible a singularity." Cisco cut in. "Dude, we have to stick with what time wants, or the Legends are going to coming and destroy us. Either that or the wraiths. I don't know which is more scary- a wraith or a mad Sara Lance."

"Sara Lance?" Julian looked around at all off them. "How much do I not know?"

"A lot." Barry said, tactlessly.

"I'll fill you in later." Caitlin offered quickly. "Continue, Barry."

Barry turned back to his board, and wrote down another line. "We know that Savitar kills Iris-"

"Time-remanent Iris-" Cisco corrected.

"Time-remanent Iris to save himself. But that doesn't make any sense." Barry paused staring at his writing. "Because he knows that I don't kill him."

"Then that means that someone else tries to." Caitlin whispered in realization. "Wait, Barry, when you went, didn't you see HR on the rooftop?"

"HR..." Barry trailed off. "It was Harry's gun."

"Yeah." Cisco muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Because he's using it to shoot my weapon."

Now everyone turned to look at him. "Weapon?" Barry asked. "What are you talking about, Cisco?"

Cisco leaned against his desk with a sigh. "The spear that Savitar stabbed you with... I've figured out it's probably the only think we're going to be able to use to defeat him. His plating is... some sort of tech, and it's invulnerable to bullets, or fire, or anything else I could throw at it."

"But I froze him, once." Caitlin remembered. "Before I became Killer Frost."

Barry nodded. "Yeah, she did."

"You just froze his _form_." Cisco corrected. "Because he was able to break out of the ice faster then any human would be able to. Anyone not surrounded by this metal... your ice would kill them, Caitlin."

She frowned, crossing her arms. Barry rubbed his temple. "So you figured out that this spear is able to break his armor."

"Wait." Jesse said, shaking her head. "The armor- and speed vibrations- are the only thing that can break the armor? How does that even make sense?"

"Speed vibrations?" Iris asked. "What are you talking about, Jesse?"

"When Barry snapped off the spear." Jesse tucked her hair behind her ear. "Didn't he vibrate his hand?"

"Reverse Flash style..." Cisco muttered. "It must just be that speed vibrations can break through literally everything- which we kind of already knew."

"We can use that." Barry turned and wrote it down. "So, in the future, before Iris dies, we call Harry, and get him to use his gun to shoot the spear. And it.. what? Stops Savitar?"

"I don't know." Cisco sighed, running his hand tiredly though his hair. "But one thing I _have_ noticed about Savitar is that it seems all of his power comes from his chest, like a normal person's heart."

Julian straightened up suddenly. "It's the stones. It's the stones that are powering his core."

"So not only do we have to destroy the stones..." Caitlin realized.

"We have to destroy the power."

Barry hurriedly wrote it down, marker squeaking on the white board as he scribbled, _Destroy core, destroy Savitar?_

"We need to figure out how to save Wally." Jesse spoke up suddenly. "Didn't Savitar say it was like Atlas? How there always has to be someone in the Speed Force to take his place?"

"If all goes well, it'll be Savitar who takes Wally's place once again, right?" Joe spoke up. "Not that I don't want to get my son back as fast as possible, but who else would go in there but Savitar?"

"I could." Barry said quietly.

"No." Caitlin shook her head firmly. "Not only are you not sacrificing yourself, but we need you here to make sure that the future comes true. Also, we know that you are in the future, so, even if you replace Wally, you're going to have to get back out, somehow. If you go in there... the result could be worse then you just staying to complete the future."

Julian nodded, backing her up. "No. We're not going to replace Wally with any one of us. There's got to be another way."

"There's not!" Barry said, banging his fist on the white board. Everyone flinched. "Look, this is all stupid. Savitar will probably figure it out, and kill both Iris', even if we _do_ figure out a way to use a time remanent. So I might as well just keep trying to prevent the future, and go into the Speed Force and try to save Wally. I don't even know if we _can_ , because the last time I went in their I-"

Jesse slammed her hand on the desk beside her. "Listen to yourself, Barry!" She shouted, tears starting to run down her cheeks again. "The man I love is inside the Speed Force, probably with a worse fate the Iris' ever will be. The thing is, we don't know for sure that that is how it has to end. We have a _possibility_ to save Wally, and I am not going to rest until we use that possibility as much as we possibly can. And if you guys want to help me, I would really appreciate it."

"Of course we'll help, Jesse." Caitlin said, calmly draping her arm over the other woman's shoulders. "We're going to get Wally back, and we're going to start by getting into the Speed Force."

"And how do you recommend doing that?" Barry snapped.

"By traveling to Earth 3, and getting the only other speedster we know."

-/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\/'\,/'\,/'\\-

Earth 3 wasn't as different from Earth 1 as Earth 2 was, or at least on the surface. Cisco stared around at the tall buildings, a city, like Central, but... different. Then he realized it was because it was quiet. No sounds of traffic, or the buzz of cars and exhaust filled the air.

Barry came to a stop next to him, also looking around, but without the open mouth. "Come on." He ordered. "I want to be away from our Earth for as little time as possible." _Away from Iris_ was what he meant, but he didn't say anything, and Cisco sure as heck wasn't going to bring it up.

They walked quickly down the road, crowded with smoothly moving pedestrians, shop fronts and people trying to get them to buy their wares. Cisco waved off an over-eager, creepily beaming, shopkeeper who stuffed a piece of strangely carved wood in his face. "Want this? Cute guy like you, I'll give you a discount."

(Actually... Barry had to drag him away from that particular shop. But if Barry wouldn't tell, then no one would ever have to know. Especially not Gypsy, who would probably kill him. Maybe literally)

It didn't take them long to find Jay. All they had to do was follow the sirens- the only cars currently on the road. He arrived a few seconds after them, and stared. "Flash? Cisco?"

"Hey, Flash." Barry greeted with a smile. "Need any help?"

Jay turned, and in seconds the robbers were in the hands of the police. "No, don't think so." He said, only showing off a little bit, Cisco thought. "What are you guys doing here?"

The thought of why they were there brought the worry lines back onto Barry's forehead. "Actually... we need your help."

"So you want me to combine my speed with Barry so that we can open a breach and save your other friend, who, in turn, is going to save Iris in the future?" Jay asked. They all nodded at him. He let out a sigh, and rubbed his forehead, before turning to frown at Barry. "What did I tell you about focusing on the future? It destroys you- makes you obsessed with what's going to happen, instead of what is happening in the moment."

Barry sighed, too, and gave him a pleading look. "Jay, I know I messed up, but if it means saving Iris' life, it's worth it."

"And stopping Savitar." Julian added. Caitlin gave him a look. "Not that saving Iris is any less important. I'm just saying that this is another reason we're doing this."

Jesse leaned foreword, face set. " _Please,_ Jay. We have to save Wally, and we can't do it without you."

Jay looked down at her, and his eyes softened. "Ok, I'll help you." He rested one hand on her shoulder, and patted it a few times. "We're going to find your friend, Miss Wells. I promise."

Jesse nodded, once, hard, and turned to Barry. "So how are we going to do this?"

He motioned for them to follow him out of the room. They reached the Particle Accelerator as a group, and hovered around the door as Cisco unlocked it. "Here's how it's going to work." Barry told Jay. "We're going to do exactly what we did when we threw the Philosopher's Stone into the Speed Force. Just run around a bunch, and then combine our speed, but instead of throwing an item in, we're going to throw _ourselves_ in."

Jesse nodded, stepping up next to them. "Alright. I've never done this kind of thing with my speed before, but I _have_ had some practice speeding people over dimensions, so I'm sure it's pretty similar."

Barry frowned at her. "What are you talking about? You aren't coming."

Jesse blinked in surprise, before her back straightened in anger. "What are you talking about? Wally's my boyfriend- of course I'm coming!"

"It's too dangerous." Barry insisted. "We don't know what's going to be there-"

"And you think you can handle it any more then I can?!" Jesse yelled, standing on her tiptoes so she was closer to his face. "If you think I'm just going to _sit here_ while you two go off on some half-cocked rescue mission, then you are _so_ wrong."

Barry let out a heavy breath of air, and looked over Jesse's shoulder at Cisco. The other man dropped his eyes. Barry looked at Iris. She did the same. "Come on, guys!" He cried. "She's a little bit emotionally attached, don't you think? I mean, if it comes down to getting out and saving Wally, we know what she's going to pick."

" _She_ is right here." Jesse growled, madder then any of the group had ever seen her. HR shifted nervously, glancing from face to face as the tension between the two speedsters grew. "And _she_ is coming with you."

There wasn't any room for discussion in her voice. Jay, who had been respectfully quiet through all of it, spoke up. "I think we should let her come, Barry. She could be useful, especially if convincing Wally to come with us is called for. We have no idea what he's going through in there- it could be his worst nightmare, but it could also be his dream reality."

The speedsters stepped to the door of the Particle Accelerator, and slowly walked down the narrow bridge in the center. Before anyone else could say a word, they were off.

Cisco led the remaining people (Caitlin, Julian, Joe, Iris and HR) back up to the Cortex so that he could be on com, and Caitlin could monitor everyone's vitals.

Cisco spoke into the mic system, instructing Barry, Jay and Jesse on exactly when they should jump into the Speed Force. "Releasing in 3-2-1- Go!"

Everything went silent for a long time after that. The Cortex was with with nervous energy- Cisco bounced his leg, HR rolled his drumsticks between his fingers, and Iris drummed her nails on the tabletop. Cisco clicked a few buttons. "They're in. I can't ping Barry's suit anymore."

"That's a problem." Caitlin bit her lip as she watched her computer screen. "Because I can't see their vitals in there."

Iris looked up from her hand, eyes wide. "They're in there alone."

-/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\/'\,/'\,/'\\-

"Everyone ok?" Barry asked quietly as he stood up.

Jesse got to her feet as well, and helped Jay, the older speedster, to his feet. "I think we're good." She said, voice hushed and almost reverent. "We're in the Speed Force."

"Cisco?" Barry tapped at his ear. "Cisco, can you here me?" He waited, and Jesse went quiet as well, straining to hear a response.

None came. "The signal must be blocked." Barry ground out in frustration. "That means we won't be able to contact them until we get out."

"We _are_ in the Speed Force." Jay reminded them. "I kind of doubt they have cell towers in here."

Despite herself, Jesse giggled. Even thought it was quiet, the noise rang out in the silent space.

The three of them took their first look around. They were in some sort of small room, with white walls and a blank, nondescript floor. "Where _are_ we?" Jesse whispered.

"This must be Wally's reality." Barry said, taking a few steps around the room, canvasing it like Oliver had taught him.

"It seems to be neither a worst possible scenario, or a best possible one." Jay added, moving around himself.

"But where's Wally?" Jesse asked. She went up to one of the walls, and pushed. To her surprise, the entire thing moved.

The room shifted dizzyingly, becoming a swirling whirl around them, like a sandstorm. When it settled back down, there was a different scene.

Wally was sitting on the floor, but he didn't seem to see any of them. He was crying. "Wally." Jesse murmured, voice breaking. "Wally, I'm here."

She tried to go to him, but, once again, the entire reality shifted. They were back in their white walled space. "What the heck?" Jay muttered.

"How are we supposed to save Wally if we can't even move?" Barry asked aloud. "When I was here before, a while back, it wasn't like this at all. I could actually _speak_ to the Speed Force."

"Yes, but you got taken by the Speed Force." Jay reminded him. "You didn't force yourself in."

"So, what?" Jesse asked, looking around again in desperation. "Do we have to wait for the Speed Force to.. accept us, or something?"

"Or do we have to accept the Speed Force?" Barry said. His head shot up in realization. "We're blaming it right now, aren't we? For taking Wally. For letting Savitar out. It doesn't like being blamed when it's just doing it's job."

"Like my dad." Jesse agreed. "Hey, Speed Force?" Both the men stared at her as she looked up at the ceiling and waved. "Uh, hi, I'm Jesse Wells, um, I'm a speedster. I'm actually from Earth 2... don't know if the Speed Force is different there, or if it's all connected..." She trailed off, and glanced at Barry, mouthing, ' _what should I say?_ '

 _'_ _I don't know!'_ Barry mouthed back.

Jesse looked back up at the ceiling. "So.. um.. anyway... there's this guy inside you, right now, his name is Wally West. You probably already know that. Uh, he's a speedster, too, and he's also my boyfriend. We really need him back, because there are a lot of people back on Earth 1 that care about him, and are really worried about him. We don't need anything, I mean, we can use all the help we can get, especially defeating Savitar, but it would be really nice if you could help us get to Wally."

Everyone in the room waiting, and for a long time, there was a mind-numbing silence. Then none other then Harry Wells appeared. "Dad!" Jesse exclaimed, running foreword to embrace him.

The man patted her back awkwardly. "I'm sorry, Jesse, I'm not your dad. I'm the Speed Force."

Jesse pulled back abruptly. "Jeez, how many people can look like my dad at once?"

Barry walked over, nodded in acknowledgement, and placed a hand on Jesse's shoulder. "The Speed Force likes to take the forms of the people you feel most comfortable around."

"Oh." Jesse still looked wary. "So, um... you heard all that... Speed Force?"

"Of course." Speed-Force-Harry nodded. "We hear everything that happens in the entire multiverse, and we surround the galaxy. We believe that we can help you, Jesse Quick."

"Really?" The light returned to Jesse's face, and she took Speed-Force-Harry's hand, squeezing it excitedly. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Then, before Barry and Jay's eyes, she vanished.

When Jesse opened her eyes, she was in the same room as Wally. She moved foreword, expecting the entire world to shift, but she found that she could walk without changing everything. "Thank you." She whispered at the ceiling, and ran toward Wally.

Once again, he didn't seem to see her. Jesse knelt in front of him, remember Savitar's words, "A fate worse the death". Everything that he was going through... it had to be inside his head.

"Wally." Jesse whispered, laying her hand on his knee. "Wally, it's me. It's Jesse. Wake up. Please, wake up."

He didn't moved, just continued to stare through her, eyes haunted, tears dripping down his cheeks.

Jesse reached up her hand to brush them away. "Come on, Wally, please..." She looked toward the sky again. "I- what do I do? What's happening to him?"

Once again, the Speed Force appeared, now in the form of Caitlin, which was a little less... weird. "Wally West has taken the place of Savitar. You need to break him out of his jail before it is too late, and he gets stuck in here forever."

Jesse bit her lip, shaking Wally's knee gently. "How do I do that? He doesn't even seem to hear me."

"I cannot help you." Speed-Force-Caitlin said sadly. "I'm sorry, Jesse Quick. This is one thing you are going to have to do on your own." Slowly, she faded back into the walls.

Jesse groaned, and ran a few fingers through her hair. She cupped Wally's cheek in her hand, tilting his face so, if he could see, he would be looking at her. "Wally." She whispered. "Wally, I'm here. I'm going to be so cliche, soon, and then we can laugh about it later, ok? You can tease me all you want, as long as you don't tell anyone at STAR Labs." She picked up her other hand, and placed it on his shoulder. "I know I'm no Prince Charming, but I'm going to do my best."

Jesse leaned down and kissed him. He was completely unresponsive, unmoving, barely breathing, but she kissed him like it was going to be the last time she ever could.

When she pulled back, she whispered, "Wally West, I love you."

The entire world began to shake...

And Wally opened his eyes.

-/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\/'\,/'\,/'\\-

Joe saw them coming first. "Wally!" He shouted, attracting Caitlin and Iris' attention. They followed him at a run down to the Particle Accelerator, and Joe threw his arms around his son, squeezing him like there was no tomorrow.

As soon as he let go, Wally was attacked by Iris, followed by Caitlin, before he got returned to Jesse again. Wally was leaned heavily on her, Barry supporting his other side, but every one of the group was smiling.

Jay greeted everyone, slightly in back of the group. "Now that this mission has been accomplished, I really should be getting back to my Earth."

"Of course." Caitlin smiled. "Thank you for all your help, Jay."

Caitlin, Iris, Joe and Jesse all led Wally up to the Cortex to that Caitlin could run one of her mandatory checkups.

Barry spoke, not exactly to Jay, not exactly _not_ to Jay. "I thought that Savitar said Wally would have to be replaced?"

The air in front of them shimmered slightly, like a remanent of speed, not quite visible. _"With everything that you do, Barry Allen, we thought that you deserved a break, just this once."_

Jay smiled, clapping his hand on Barry's shoulder. "See? I told you it wasn't all for nothing."

Barry grinned back. "I guess not." He paused, searching the other man's face. "Are you.. sure you can't stay for a little while longer? We could use your help fighting Savitar and everything."

Jay shook his head. "Unfortunately, I've got my own world to protect. But if you need any more assistance, you know where to find me." He pulled Barry in to a tight hug. "I'll see you soon, Flash."

"Yeah." Barry smiled. "Flash."

They were all back in the Cortex now, with Jay having gone home, and Wally resting in one of the medical beds, his family happy crowded around him. Barry watched them with a smile on his face, a layer of guilt still heavy on his shoulders.

Caitlin walked up to him. "Hey." She murmured. "It wasn't your fault."

"I know." Barry nodded, squeezing her shoulder. "And, Caitlin, I meant to thank you?"

"For what?" She asked, a quizzical smile on her face, joining him in leaning against the table.

"For a lot of things." Barry said. "For keeping the stone- which actually prevented Savitar from getting out before he did. For finding a much better way to save Iris. For giving me hope."

Caitlin smiled, and hugged him tightly. "What are friends for?"

"Speaking of friends..." Barry trailed off slightly, nodding his chin at a certain blond forensic scientist, who was currently interrogating Jesse about what the Speed Force was like. "I noticed that you and Julian were... having some difficulties."

Caitlin bit her lip, looking away. He caught her arm with his hand. "At times like these, I think it's worth trying to make things better."

"I did." Caitlin sighed. "I'm just not sure if it worked."

"It's you, Cait." Barry squeezed her arm. "I'll bet it did."

"Caitlin!"

Caitlin spun around at the sound of her voice, and barely had time to brace herself before Julian pressed his lips against hers. She gasped, wrapping her arms happily around his neck and letting him tug her closer.

She let him pull away first, not wanting him to believe for a second that this wasn't wha she wanted.

Julian looked her straight in the eye, unblinking. "I- I thought about what you said. About me, and the team, and- I just feel like, using someone's loneliness for your own self-gain... that's not who you are. So I feel like I should believe you when you tell me that that wasn't the only reason why you wanted me on the team. Also... you're right. We're both scared of who we are inside, and I- I need you, too, to keep me in check."

She smiled, before hugging him tightly. "I'm glad that you think that, Julian."

"Yeah." He nodded vigorously. "Yeah, yeah, me too."

This time, it was her turn to kiss him.

Barry wasn't even sure if he was supposed to come home.

He had no idea what Iris taking off her ring meant- whether they were breaking up, or she just wasn't ready to be engaged to him yet. Still, he was exhausted, and it didn't feel right going back to Joe's.

"Hi, Barry." Iris greeted, opening the door and giving him a hug. "I wasn't sure if you'd come here or not."

"If- If your not ready... I can leave." Barry said, shifting nervously.

Iris frowned. "Just because I'm not ready to get married to you yet doesn't mean that I don't still love you, Barry. Never forget that."

Barry nodded, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders that he hadn't even known was there. "Yeah. Ok."

He walked into their house, hanging up his coat and sliding off his shoes, before seating himself at their giant dining table. Iris sat next to him, and took his hand in hers. "I'm really glad you got my brother back, Barry. Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me." Barry told her, thumb brushing across the back of her hand. "And, Iris, I promise you, I'm going to save you, too."

Iris took a deep breath. "Look, Barry, I appreciate you saying that, but... I'm not scared, anymore. I know that time will do what it wants, whether we are ok with it or not- and, you know what? I am. I am ok with it. If me dying is what's going to happen... then so be it." She stared hard into his eyes. "You just need to promise me one thing."

"Anything." Barry whispered.

"If- If I do die... don't block people out, like you did last time. Let them in, Barry, because they're the only people who are going to be able to help you get through it."

Barry nodded, just barely, and leaned foreword to kiss her. "I love you, Iris West."

"I love you too, Barry Allen. Always."

-/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\,/'\/'\,/'\,/'\\-

Many miles away, in a temple far up in the grasp of snowy mountains, Savitar leaned back in his throne, watching his small, insignificant servers scurry around praising him and bowing.

"I'm coming for you, Barry Allen." He growled, hands tightening on the arm of his chair. "You can run. But you can't hide."

 **Author's Note: Longest. Oneshot. Ever. Guys. My** ** _soul_** **is exhausted. Please review!**

 **I felt the need to add that slightly creepy cliff hanger thing because, as you might have guessed, this was supposed to be seen as an actual show. It felt** ** _real_** **to me, which made it much better then anything else I could have written. Now it's going to be a shock getting back into the miserable, close-minded angst of cannon...**


End file.
